• The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) announced a milestone for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the fourth unit of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant entering commercial operations, marking its full delivery.
• It is the Arab world’s first nuclear power plant.
• The plant is located in the Al Dhafra Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, approximately 53 kilometers west-southwest of the city of Ruwais.
• The plant has been delivered in accordance with the UAE’s 2008 policy commitments for nuclear energy development, meeting the highest standards of safety, security and transparency.
• Barakah, which means “blessing” in Arabic, started operations in 2020 when the first of its four reactors went into service.
Why is it a significant milestone for UAE?
• It will generate 25 per cent of the electricity needs of the hot, desert Gulf state, where air-conditioning is ubiquitous.
• The Barakah plant is now generating 40TWh of electricity per year, nearly the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of New Zealand.
• This clean and carbon-free energy is enough to power 16 million electric vehicles annually.
• This represents the largest decarbonisation effort in the UAE and the region, positioning the country ahead of its 2030 climate commitments.
• The 22.4 million tonnes of annual carbon emissions prevented by the Barakah Plant are equivalent to removing 4.6 million cars from the roads each year and contribute to achieving 24 per cent of the nation’s 2030 decarbonisation commitments (Nationally Determined Contributions).
• The UAE, which is made up of seven emirates, including the capital Abu Dhabi and economic hub Dubai, is one of the largest oil producers in the OPEC cartel.
• The station will power companies including the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), one of the world's biggest oil producers, Emirates Steel and Emirates Global Aluminium.
• The country was largely built on oil but is spending billions to develop enough renewable energy to cover half of its needs by 2050.
• According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the plant will have to be disassembled at the end of its useful life, in around 60-80 years.
• At COP28, as many as 25 nations, including the UAE, launched a pledge to work to triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050.
